US Markets Soar: Dow Jones and S&P 500 Reach New Peaks on Tech Rally

 

US Markets LIVE, 19 Jan 2024: The US stock market indices opened higher on Friday, despite the uncertainty about the timing of interest rate cuts and as investors shifted their focus on more quarterly earnings.

The  Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) opened higher by 103.89 points at 37572.50, while the S&P 500 index made a positive opening of 15.34 points and opened at 4796.28. The Nasdaq Composite index also opened higher by 66.73 points at 15122.38.

 

US Markets Live Today

 

US Markets Live at 11.30 a.m EDT, Dow Jones is trading higher by 155.69 points or 0.42 percent at the 37624.30 level while the S&P 500 is trading at an all-time high, up by 23.76 points or 0.50 percent at 47804.70 levels. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended its early gains and is trading higher by 97.37 points or 0.65 percent at 15153.02 levels. 

 

US Markets News

 

The US stock markets are trading higher for the second consecutive day. On Thursday, gains were reported mainly in the tech stocks led by Apple, after Bank of America upgraded the stock from neutral to buy with a potential 20% upside target. The Apple stocks continued to trade higher on Friday.

Traders also kept their eyes on Washington after Congress passed a bill to avert a partial government shutdown. The US market indices are likely to close mixed this week, with the Nasdaq index heading for weekly gains, as investors bet on growth stocks on the expectation that the central bank will start reducing the interest rate from March this year.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, investors now see around a 51% chance that the Fed will ease the interest rate in the March policy meeting. The probability of easing interest rate has come down from 71% to 51% after retail sales and weekly jobless claim data released this week.

On the economic front, the existing home sales dropped in December as compared to the previous month and came below expectations. Separate data showed that Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for January came higher than expected, indicating that consumers are becoming more confident about the economy and inflation. 

The 10-year Treasury yields continued their upward trend, increasing by 4.175% from the previous day’s closing rate of 4.146%. Investors are now waiting for the speeches from Fed officials later in the session.

 

US Stocks In News

 

Shares of Wayfair gained more than 7% after the company said it will lay off 13% of its global workforce. This is to reduce costs by cutting layers of management, which is expected to save about $280 million.

Hertz’s stock price declined more than 7% as Jefferies cut the price target and downgraded the stock from buy to hold. It said that electric vehicle repair issues and depreciation expenses will cap the company’s near-term profits.

The share price of Spirit Airlines jumped 25% after the airline company said that it expects revenue for the fourth quarter to come on the high end of its earlier estimates due to strong bookings. The company also estimated operating profits will be better than expected

 

Crude Oil Prices

 

Crude oil prices are trading slightly higher on Friday heading for a positive week on the back of fresh geopolitical tensions as well as disruption in US oil production from a winter storm.

The US WTI crude trades flat at $72.93 per barrel while London-based Brent crude oil is marginally up by 0.06% at $79.15 per barrel.

 

Also, read –  US Markets Soar: Nasdaq Outperforms as Apple Leads Tech and Chip Stocks Surge

 

US Markets at Close

 

US markets closed higher on Friday, the S&P 500 index ended at a record high due to a big rally in tech stocks after the release of Michigan consumer sentiments data and cooling inflation expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed higher by 395.19 points or  1.05% and closed at 37863.80, while the S&P 500 index was up by 58.87 points or 1.23% and settled at 4839.81. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index jumped 255.32 points or 1.70% and finished at 15310.97.

 

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